My Food Job Rocks!

This is an episode of Crisis Meets Opportunity, a podcast I do every Monday WEEKLY with my friend Kai Wang. Enjoy listening about our week, current events, and the insider details on the launch of Sobo Foods! Episode breakdown is generally 2 current events, a business diagnosis and a thoughtful end-of-episode thing about life advice. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6mCouRehIWU8tQsHqWqvMM Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crisis-meets-opportunity/id1615486011  

Today we're interviewing Karen Chiu, Senior Brand and Business Development Manager at Lypid Food. A foodtech ingredient company that creates Phytofat, a plant-based fat that's healthier and more sustainable than animal fat. I actually was able to meet Karen before the interview in which she invited me to try the phytofat burger at San Burino. This was a really interesting place in Taipei as it felt like I stepped into an American mini mall. Anyways, we couldn't do the interview over there so we did it when I was in Kaohsiung online. Karen's specialty is branding and she actually did a bit of branding in the United States. She's specifically interested in community and what aligns in what Karen does has to do a lot with community.   Karen's first job is with Green Monday, in what I see is a company with a huge presence in Asia. This company does a really good job with brand integrity as it seems like everyone in every Asian country knows them. She then talks about her experience working for both Green Monday and Lypid. We also get into a deep dive on how to put a unique ingredient into the hands of restauranters and the feedback loop you develop when launching a successful collaboration.

Today we're interviewing Evelyn Sun, Investment Manager at Foodland Ventures, a VC firm in Taiwan. Ok so now we're going to see Taiwan's view on food tech. For those that don't know, Taiwan is a powerhouse when it comes to innovation. I went to about like, 3 museums per country and one of the most memorable museums I went to was the National Science and Technology Museum in Kaohsiung, the coastal southern city of Taiwan. Oh man, Taiwan smokes everyone when it comes to the thoughtfulness and more importantly, the investments they put into business-to-business play is impressive. 92% of the world's tennis rackets, their semiconductor industry is a behemoth,   What I found interesting is Taiwan's view on loyalty. The people in Taiwan love being Taiwanese. I'm not going into the politics here but what was interesting is that the General partners in Foodland Ventures were successful American entrepreneurs who came back to Taiwan to cultivate and grow better businesses. Anyway, Evelyn shares with me some of the focuses and innovations happening in not just food tech, but also things like ag tech and restaurant tech. It really is a great overview of Taiwan's entrepreneurial tech industry.

Today we're interviewing Mai Bach, Co-founder and CEO of Oochacha, one of the first vegan restaurants in Taiwan that serve raw smoothies. She's a social entrepreneur who walks the walk and talks the talk. Mai and her husband/business partner did a 6-month trip around Asia and then settled down in Taiwan to start a vegan business. Sound familiar? Mai is an amazing conversationalist. I didn't even edit this episode all that much because she just spoke so eloquently and was just full of knowledge. She talks about Taiwan being this small but big city and why she decided to set up shop here. Mai also goes through her vegan experience in Taiwan and talks about how hard it was to get nourished as a Vegan. So like all great entrepreneurs, she recognized a problem and then developed a solution which was green smoothies. Also, why don't Asian vegans eat garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, all the alliums? I was so confused by Mai demystifies it, it‘s apparently a Buddhist practice because alliums flare up the emotions. So if you're ever entering the vegan Asian market, you might be at a disadvantage if you're using garlic and onion. Wow, I don't think I could ever cook without those. Vegan is a relatively new term in Asia and it's also super diverse so it's been amazing unearthing on just how nascent the industry is  Overall, Mai's journey building Ochacha is a masterclass example of finding a niche, finding out how to build something in a foreign country, and just being persistent in the decade in building this amazing concept We have a really good discussion before we actually started the podcast so I kept that in. Sorry for the Noise, we actually do this in Mai's café in Taipei. At lunchtime, it was packed.  

Today we chat with Yuki Hanyu, Founder and CEO of IntegriCulture Inc., a cellular agriculture platform company developing cell-based meat and the technologies needed to produce it efficiently at scale. He is also the Founder of the Shojinmeat Project, a citizen-science nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing an open-source, inclusive future for cellular agriculture. Before starting Integriculture, Yuki started the Shojin Meats, is a project Yuki started that allows you to create cultivated meat from home. Yuki explains the unique process in the episode which I find quite insane. If you had no money, and no expertise to create cultivated meat, how would you do it? Yuki gives us a playbook in this episode on how you could create it, in your house! Yuki talks about crowdfunding a movement by using out-of-this world marketing tactics such as posting on video and putting a manual at a comic convention and reminds me of the early days of Apple, where a bunch of scrappy enthusiasts gathered together to create something amazing. I first met Yuki in California at Alex Shirazi's Cultured Meat Symposium where in his presentation, he showed a video of him making cultivated meat in his apartment. If you get overwhelmed by technical jargon, you're not alone! Yuki is an extremely smart and hyper-energetic drive. We also talk about some of the frustrations of regulation of cultivated meat and the governmental understanding and perception of cultivated meat is well, across the board. There is some hope that Japan is being proactive about this type of technology. We also talk about a lot of different anime and manga, science fiction shows and scenarios! So again, if you get lost don't worry, it's all part of the interview on how Yuki finds inspiration in his work, by the way, you might notice why Adam knows so much about this topic? Well… hard to explain Yuki is amazing. His transparency, his brain, his drive and his geekiness is really magnetic. You'll also see a geeky side of me, which I think was quite useful when talking to Yuki.

Today we're interviewing Satoshi Umino, founder of Sustainable Foods Asia, a consulting firm that helps companies enter the Japanese market. Satoshi personally works with companies to prop and pop up restaurants and educates consumers about unique food ingredients. I've met Satoshi multiple times when I was back in the United States and it's been real good bumping into him. It seems like a lot of Japanese companies are going to the United States to find the next big innovation. Our manufacturing partner has been courting through Japanese companies through his facility so something's there. Satoshi does a great job describing the Japanese's culture when it comes to tasting food and it's been real interesting learning about how he's introducing new food to the Japanese market. Pay attention specifically how he introduces things like jackfruit, spirulina and moringa, all fantastically new ingredients, to Japan Our world is global, and food itself is global and people like Satoshi are needed to explain just why our global food system is so cool. Satoshi echo's Akiko's interview in what the Japanese consumers look for in terms of the values go for food and some clarification on what the Japanese want in their food. It's always amazing just thinking about the new friendships I've made throughout this journey and just having a network of global faces that I've seen coming to America has been absolutely wonderful.

Today we're interviewing Akiko Okada, Research and Insight Specialist at SigmaXYZ. A consulting firm in Japan. Akiko is also the main point of contact for Smart Kitchen Summit Japan, a satellite conference of Michael Wolf's conference of the same name, Akiko gives us a short history of the innovation of Japan, in which she played a huge part of in her past life. I think this interview also gives me perspective on what exactly is food tech. Whenever I talk about food tech, I generally gravitate to alternative proteins, but that's not the case. Food Tech is where we apply any technology to food. Though the material is the cool part, there are tons of other sectors in Food Tech I personally have no idea about! One of my favorite quotes from Akiko was out discussion on the first SKS conference in Japan. Apparently, it was just a small 200 person conference but they were all full of crazy, passionate, people! You'll also learn how SigmaXYZ works with big companies and startups to win. The startup mentioned in this is Base Foods. Check them out! I remember talking to them like 4 years back and now they're big in Japan. And of course, I talk to Akiko about Japanese entrepreneurship. In general, Japan doesn't have many startups because it's too risky, but Akiko gives me hope that, that soon might change. When it comes to sustainability, the Japanese have a very different viewpoint on food. Basically, they don't really care if food is sustainable, but they care about other things in food tech.

Today we're interviewing Jennifer Stokjovic, author of The Future of Food Is Female, Founder of the Vegan Woman's Summit, and VC partner at Joyful VC. Jennifer is pretty much everywhere when it comes to food tech and coincidentally enough, she was in South Korea while I was there. But unlike me who was in South Korea goofing off, Jennifer was there advocating for food technology at the World Knowledge forum. Helen told me after her interview that she was in town, I sent a quick text and 4 hours later, I took a Korean taxi to one of the fanciest hotels I've ever seen and met Jennifer, where we proceeded to do a podcast right at the hotel. Amazing. Jennifer is, of course, a force. Extremely passionate, extremely productive, and extremely knowledgable and her ability to use her connections, knowledge pool and mission brings me in awe. So expect a ton in this interview as we go back and forth on our predictions in food. Lots of very interesting tidbits on policy, on environmental issues, and on the funding environment. Big insights on the diversity of our current food tech environment and how Jennifer has taken charge to change this. We also dive into practical advice on how we can make our ecosystem flourish through diversity. Jennifer has a great and compelling reason for fighting for compassion and animal rights. Deeply personal, but extremely valuable to learn and process. One of the quotes I loved during this interview is how to think about the future. One of the quotes that Jennifer says is that: The world is not going to be worse but it's going to be different  

Today we're interviewing Helen Gi, Founder of HAE Creative, a mission-driven consultant agency that helps a ton of plant-based brands understand South Korea. HAE stands for Human Health Animal Liberation and Environmental Sustainability We do this in a district in Korea called Itaewon! Itaewon is crazy, it's this unique, sloping melting pot of so many different cultures and vanity. My friend and I found a bar crawl there and we were surprised how many foreigners showed up. Helen is such a helpful and giving person who has great insights on the Korean vegan community and has worked in a variety of industries throughout her life. She is eloquent and so community driven and has a lot of heart in what she does and it shows in the interview. Since Helen collaborates with other food tech players globally, You'll also get a better understanding on how the Korean market works. It's a great testbed for innovation. You'll also get a good feel on the values and views of entrepreneurship in Korea. I find this topic fascinating as you realize that culture is a big part of being an entrepreneur. In America, we are really gung ho about entrepreneurship. We also have a lot of data, research, talent and drive in America compared to most countries. What I've found most inspiring about South Korea's food tech community is that it's carried by some fantastic individuals who really care about the future they create. Perhaps one can say that all great things start with someone who will stop at nothing to make a difference in the world.

Today we're interviewing Jimmy Sohn, founder of TechnoPlus, but does a variety of other things to help bring innovative food technologies to Korea. He is described as a one-man-army who has a vast variety of skillsets and understands food really well. I've been a linkedin connection with Jimmy for years and it's so awesome to meet him in person in Korea. Jimmy has been following and contributing to the cultivated meat movement since the beginning. Jimmy has a degree in hotel management and used to manage restaurants and become a chef. Once he moved to Korea, he found out about food tech, specifically cultivated meat, and has shared his interest with other likeminded individuals. Cool part of the interview is his insights to the Korean market. Jimmy has all eyes and ears in the Korean market when it comes to what they like and don't like. This includes things like plant-based meat and cultivated. Jimmy brings perspective on the opportunities and challenges in the Korean market and is a great teaser to the wonderfully complex world of Korean pop culture.  

Today we're interviewing Adam Richman food author, expert, and culinary entrepreneur of The HISTORY Channel's popular non-fiction series “The Food That Built America”. I first saw Adam Richman on the show, Man vs Food! So we had to start with that journey first What I find amazing about this interview is how Adam takes all of these very interesting cultural touchstones from art, to culture, to food and accumulates these experiences over time. Of course, this is why he's such a good host and commentator in his career in food. The road to his first big break as the Host of Man vs Food is full of these brick-by-brick experiences that cumulated into his continuing success as a TV show host for a variety of super cool food-specific series. Currently, Adam is doing shows for the History channel including “The Food that Built America!” Which is debuting it's 4th season. This season started on Feburary 9th and there's 16 jam-packed episodes including episodes where brands face off against each other such as: Chick-Fil-A vs. Popeyes, Starbucks vs. Dunkin Donuts Hot Pockets vs. Totinos.  But I'm interested in the host, someone I've been watching since I was a kid. I remember Man vs Food quite well and I was so honored to be asked to interview Adam.  So Adam goes through his whole life. From his childhood to his college, to his lowest point, to his killer audition for Man vs Food. It's an inspiring story that all comes together. Very important, Adam talks about a lot of things, and you will notice his specific detail on a variety of things throughout his life. All of the examples and the opportunities he took accumulate beautifully when he applies to Man vs Food. Adam crushed it. The role was meant for him.

Today we're interviewing Edwin Yang, brewmaster and supply chain manager for Vattanac, a brewery in Cambodia! This interview isn't about mental trauma or how the world is about to end, let's have a refresher, or a refreshment and learn about the wonderful world of beer! Edwin is a world traveler and has honed his brewery skills by learning other countries' skillset and cultures Sound familiar? He's a Singaporean native but has been all over the world from the United States, to Germany, to Hong Kong, improving his skill set in the world of beer. Edwin gives us a snapshot of Cambodia's growing ecosystem and the wild west competitive atmosphere in the beer industry over here. He also goes through the process of brewing three types of beer and also some cool tricks on how to market beer. Did you know if you crack open Cambodian beer, you have a chance to win a prize? Just look under the tab, and you might win a beer or a bike? My personal favorite part of this interview is that we drink three beers live on air! And Edwin does a phenomenal job going through the experience of tasting beer.

Today we're interviewing Chole Sorvino, Forbes reporter and author of the new book, Raw Deal, Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and The Fight for the Future of Meat This is a book that is a deep dive into the meat industry and its future. This includes food tech such as plant-based and cultivated. Chole's viewpoint is what I'd view as skeptical but it's well-researched and the perspective is much needed in this industry. Colored in this book is the quick 5 decade history of the scale-up of animal agriculture, the externalities in terms of how the meat industry acquires labor and the environmental damages caused by the tons of waste generated daily.   Biggest takeaway? The meat industry we know has quite a brutal history of taking advantage of and proliferating its tactic for world domination. Conventional meat is an innovative technology (which is efficient and huge slaughterhouses that kill, tear apart, and clean animals extremely fast) and has influenced how we eat and we don't even notice it!  But to be frank, this industry is only 50 years old. It's actually an amazing case study of scaling a premium product with huge externalities and we can compare this to similar things such as well, smartphones and social media.  Another key section in this interview is our discussion on the current climate in food tech Chloe has access to a lot of information and it was nice to get some perspective on what's going on. At the end of the interview, Chloe and I talk about some innovative solutions that she finds promising. Overall, highly recommend this book. I know a lot of our viewers who listen to My Food Job Rocks are interested in alternative protein but broadening your perspective is really important. I find Chole's book super informative from a historical viewpoint and her suggestions for creating a better food system are another potential solution for a better world. As someone who's worked in slaughterhouses, and food tech, and looking into various solutions to solve a lot of these externalities, it was refreshing getting Chloe's insights.

  Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and learn what they do, how they got there, and insights on the future of food. I'm your host and food scientist Adam Yee.  Today we're interviewing Jake Karls, Chief Rainmaker and Co-Founder of Mid-Day Squares a Canadian chocolate company that is killing it with its viral marketing techniques and innovative product Fun fact, my first job was for a Canadian candy company. In fact, there are several candy and bar companies over there so Mid-Day Squares is in good hands in terms of the talented canucks in French Canada.  Ok, so Jake has a super magnetic, charismatic personality and instantly, you will be captured by his tone and message. He's also flattering!   Jake pours his heart out here and talks about how he joined his sister's and brother-in-law's company after his second business failed. I think what most people miss in a lot of interviews is digging deep into Jake's past businesses and how that set him up for success for Mid-Day Squares. A lot of it is a great team and what better team than family? Authenticity is a big part of this interview and in my opinion, the most powerful way to be authentic is to talk about your past, because the way you talk about your path shows how you've reflected and grown. You'll hear a lot about what makes Jake, Jake. A big chunk of this interview is therapy and walking through tough situations. Especially as entrepreneurs, where you have the majority of the issues pile onto you, takes a toll. I burned out in my last startup, and I have some trauma whenever I think about how alone I felt.  I have to thank the Chief of Staff Jordainne Erichson, who's a fan of this podcast. That's right, the fans make this podcast sing. As I look back at all of the interviews, recently, the majority of these amazing interviews were because of the fans. So thank you!

Today we're interviewing Daniel Teoh, a serial entrepreneur in Malaysia and founder of Native Discovery, a social enterprise that co-creates community-based ventures with indigenous communities to boost livelihoods and grow their cultural confidence. They specialize in sustainable tourism and work closely with our community partners in hosting unique experiences that are meaningful, challenging, and fun for both international and domestic travelers. Thank you Lee Swelin for this awesome introduction. This was a super fun interview! Daniel guides us through audibly about how a tour through these indigenous populations works and I was salivating by the time it was done. Like all creatives, Daniel's path wasn't set in stone. Daniel has a degree in Civil Engineering and split off as an entrepreneur as opportunities came. What was his guiding light, was his passion to share the indigenous culture of Malaysia. Daniel is also a super cool entrepreneur who does things scrappily and hustles his butt off and you'll hear a ton of examples of how he tested and validated his ideas into viable businesses.   This is also a great interview about indigenous people. Actually, all over the world, I've learned about indigenous people. America has its own issues, but surprisingly, in Australia, indigenous people were a huge part of the museums. I even went to a live event about some artists in Melbourne celebrating indigenous art.   In another part of this interview, you'll learn a lot about Durian! Have you heard of durian? It's a really smelly fruit that is very polarizing. In my opinion, it smells like rotten, overripe fruit. I can eat it, but not a lot. I find the texture super good.   Anyways, you'll learn not only the magic of durian, but how they grow, how it's harvested, and what might actually eat durian. You're also going to learn some cooking tips with Durian! You're going to learn so many things about Durian, you might actually want to buy it at an Asian grocery market.   Daniel's story is an inspiring journey of following what you care about, and seizing every opportunity to build something amazing

Today we're interviewing Adwin Koh Hsin Win, Head of Food Innovation and Technology at Pizza Hut in Malaysia! So a global company like pizza hut needs to adapt to local cultures and sometimes the franchise can take charge in developing local R+D flavors. Adwin is the man who gets that job done Adwin is a rockstar who's worked in Lays, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and even smaller companies building out their menus. He's super experienced and knowledgeable in his field. One of the industries I don't really have a good grasp on are Quick Serivce or QSR interviews. One, I personally love fast food, but two, it's definitively a different beast compared to a lot of the companies I work for. When we started looking into food service, I never realized how important the ease of use a product has to be for it to be part of a large QSR channel. I love QSR interviews, especially R+D ones and Adwin's reminds me of a personal favorite, Missy Schapook from Taco Bell. Fun fact, I actually went to the headquarters of Taco Bell thanks to Missy and she showed me everything from the kitchen where they innovate products, the sensory room where they put you into a booth for you to try new taco bell products, and the marketing room where they track each and every tweet and post for positive or negative vibes. Adwin brings more insight to the field and talks about how the Malaysia team works with Global. It's a really fun interview. As always, I ask Adwin about the cool things in Malaysia and he adds to the ever-growing list when I come back.                    

Today we're interviewing Alyssa Eng, Innovation and Improvement Executive at Qra, a small but growing startup retail chain store in Malaysia. I met Alyssa once during my event a long time ago in WeWork Food Labs. It was my going away party to Austin Texas where I spent $2000 dollars on catered food. I didn't remember at first. Grace told me about Alyssa so I reached out and the memories flooded in. At the time, Alyssa worked at CCD in California. Phil Saneski and a few of his friends also worked there so it all clicked together. It was so nice to catch up with Alyssa over some delicious Turkish food like 5 minutes from the hotel. So what's unique about this interview Alyssa has worked in the United States and she talks about her experience being an intern in the United States What's really value about this interview is Alyssa's transition from Malaysia to The United States to Malaysia again and how the pandemic, which seems like ages ago, affected jobs QRA is growing fast and Alyssa is along for the ride. After opening 3 stores in a year, Alyssa has jumped into all sorts of job roles over there and talks about the dynamics of working in retail, developing products, and the expectations of working in Malaysia.

  Welcome to the My Food Job Rocks Podcast, a podcast where we interview experts in the food industry and learn what they do, how they got there, and insights on the future of food. I'm your host and food scientist Adam Yee. Today we're interviewing Grace Huei Tan, Business Development Manager at Oatside, a plant-milk company. Grace also does projects with Malaysia coffee companies and marketing. So Grace and I have been online penpals for years and I remember she reached out when I first started My Food Job Rocks, but I don't remember why. Over time, we've worked on a few small things together such as a My Food Job Rocks article miniseries where I asked guest students to write their experience in food science from different countries. It's so amazing to finally see her in person. I really enjoyed this episode for a lot of reasons. Grace is exceptional at talking about what she loves to do and you'll learn her really fun journey in the food industry as she has gone through being a celebrity from winning a food competition, to traveling around the world showing people Asian flavors, and now has landed in the marketing field. What I also found insightful was Grace's viewpoint on Malaysia and the food industry and how the country perceives education, careers, and health. You're also going to get a bit more of a deeper insight on Malaysian lifestyle. From the diverse groups that are here, to the delicious food Grace goes out of her way to go. I think what's really impactful is a common thread is starting to bubble up with that a lot of talent leaks out of Malaysia into countries such as Singapore, Australaia, or the United States. Grace also knows where all the good food is in Malaysia so make sure to get a notepad handy when you plan your trip to Malaysia!

Today we're interviewing Sew Chang Chew, Head of R and D at Hybrid Dairy Alliance, a new business that focuses on dairy manufacturing. Welcome to Malaysia! This is the first interview I did hours after I landed. I actually met Sew 9 years ago at IFT when our colleges were both competing in a product development competition. I believe it was Developing Solutions for Developing Countries. Sew has a lot to say about the food industry in Malaysia and gives a good introduction to what the food is really about. Not just industry, but he describes food really well. I think what's great to take away from this interview is the point of view. What's amazing about traveling to all of these countries and interviewing everyone is you get to see not only the differences but the similarities between what's going on and Sew highlights a lot of challenges that I feel I've faced in my career. You're also going to get a lot of practical advice! Sew is essentially a manager and gives some good tips on how to teach and motivate your employees! His advice is very simple, and methodical. I never realized how similar I was with Sew, we both have worked many jobs, around 2-year stints, and he himself traveled the world.  

Today we're interviewing Widya Putra, CEO, and co-founder of Meatless Kingdom. They are a company that makes delicious Indonesian CPG products using mushrooms. I was fortunate to talk to Widya when he was visiting Singapore and did this interview at the Big Idea Ventures Office. I find that super cool! As you've been listening to this episode, Singapore is such a focal point to the whole investment scene and food is no exception. Talking to entrepreneurs locally in Singapore, from China and now Indonesia has been so interesting and shows just how centerpoint the city is. Anyways, I don't know much about Indonesia and it wasn't really in my plans to visit when I was planning my world trip so I'm fortunate to have interviewed Widya to learn more about the ecosystem. Maybe next time. In this interview, you'll learn about Indonesia's perspective on plant-based meat and what Meatless Kingdom is doing to help introduce Indonesians to plant-based cuisines. You'll also learn why Meatless Kingdom applied to Big Idea Venture's Cohort 5 and how Big Idea helped Meatless Kingdom grow its business through its accelerator program. There's only like 5 players in Indonesia each tackling different products so it's pretty small. But for me, I see a glimmer of excitement in a whole new market looking for delicious new products.  

I'm so excited to have my good friend David Kay on the My Food Job Rocks podcast. David is employee number 1 at Upside Foods, which used to be called Memphis Meats. You may know them as one of the leaders of the cultivated meat movement. As we all know, bringing new technology to the world can be risky so you'll learn a ton of the strategies David has used to what he says, derisks bringing cultivated meat to market I got a tour of the Upside food facility, called EPIC. Before it was bought out 2 years ago, it used to be a grocery store in the heart of Emeryville. When you enter the building, you are greeted with an open kitchen and then David gave me a tour. Upside Foods is working on a bunch of stuff. Though I heard a bunch about them when I was in California, it's nice to see the visual progress. They've found a way to produce any type of meat by developing a robust process to generate cells. By the way, haven't tasted Upsides' stuff yet! Some day. Upside Foods is valued at around $1 billion dollars and is one of the most well-funded contenders in the space. One could say they've always been the tip of the spear when it comes to this industry and it is actually quite interesting to compare Upside with the other global players I've interviewed. The facility can produce 50,000-400,000 pounds of meat a year but that's a drop in the bucket compared to the meat industry. You'll also learn the regulatory framework for cultivated meat and what still needs to get done for this to be commercialized! There's still a lot of work for cultivated meat to go mainstream. After all, it took 9 years for the concept to light a fire but progress is happening. If you're in the weeds for this industry, it's making progress. Most expect the outcome sooner, who doesn't? but for me, the journey in how this technology has been developing has been amazing.

Today we're interviewing Durgalakshmi Sathiakumar, or Durga for short. She's the COO and first employee for Shiok Meats, one would say the most ahead of the cultivated meat ecosystem in Asia. It's currently, in Series B and raised $21.5 million according to CB Insights and is valued around $99 million. Though a modest amount in United States standards, this is huge when it comes to Asia. So I learned shiok is basically a term for deliciousness which embraces the focus of Shiok Meats as it is specifically headquartered in Singapore. What was surprising is that Shiok actually does more than just shrimp. It's also doing Wagyu beef thanks to an acquisition. Do they synergize? The answer's fuzzy. You'll not only learn why Shiok focuses on seafood but also the perception on cultivated meat in Singapore, and we compare it to places in the United States. Though the data is ever-changing. Durga herself gives some valuable advice on some of the skillsets you need in the industry as well as trying to find your ikagai, or purpose in life.  

We're interviewing Dr. Dalal AlGhawas, Director at Big Idea Ventures, a global accelerator focusing on protein technology. Well, Big Idea ventures isn't just an accelerator, it's also a venture capitalist arm, a networking hub, and all around, global player in the food tech space. I remember interviewing Andrew Ive, the CEO of Big Idea Ventures. Pre-pandemic just when they were getting started and Big Idea has grown so fast. Last I've heard, they've been going global hosting competitions and demo days in Korea and Japan. Now I'm interviewing Dalal, who's been so helpful in connecting me to not just some amazing interviews in Singapore, but also in general, meeting some awesome people personally and professionally! Dalal is a wealth of knowledge and I've noticed she has a great understanding of the history of whole industries, which allows her to gather insights to give out practical advice. If you've been following this series since the beginning I hope after this episode, you might be seeing a sort of congealment in all of the guests we've had and how they work with and synergize with each other. It's probably the most beautiful thing about Singapore, in that everyone truly knows and wants to help each other. You'll hear several companies in this interview that we've been able to talk to and it's so nice to hear just how networked the whole Singapore ecosystem is. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/264Dalal

Today we're interviewing Max Rye, co-founder and Chief Strategist at Turtle Tree Labs. Which is a precision fermentation company focusing on lactoferrin, a supermolecule in cow's milk. One of the most unique things about Turtle Tree is that they have hubs in Singapore, Davis California and Boston Massachusetts. I know a few companies who are taking this approach because certain areas have certain talents. To level set, Turtle Tree has raised around $40 million dollars so you do need a lot of money to prepare for managing a global company. Though the world is changing thanks to technology and it seems like event startups can take advantage of location. Max tells us how turtle Tree manages that. Talent is surprisingly more location dependent than you think. This is generally why despite what anyone says, the United States still produces the most talented employees in the world. Ok enough bragging. Max ran a software company for about 15 years before handing it off and diving into solving sustainability problems. I found Max's talk to be insightful and there are a plethora of inspiring insights and stories that might help you consider going into this space. You'll learn about Max's journey on building Turtle Tree and it shows that he is an example of the many people who are transitioning from tech to solving big and meaningful climate problems. It's really inspiring and he's inspired others to do so too. Special thanks to long-time fan Vien-An Freidel for connecting me with the Turtle Tree Team I would have never gotten a chance with such a high profile interview without her. show notes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/263Max

  Today I'm interviewing Mihir Pershad, co-founder of Umami Meats, a cultivated seafood company in Singapore. Mihir has great in-depth knowledge of the fish farming industry and does an amazing job explaining and articulating the complexities in traditional seafood agriculture. What I really enjoyed is that he captures the nuances and the problems quite well. This gives him a significant advantage when he launched Umami Meats, which focuses on cultivated seafood. After this interview, Umami Meats had people try their product in Singapore's fine dining among other cultivate meat brands so they are innovating fast! Be prepared to swim in fish and seafood facts in this interview. Mihir is super knowledgeable in not just the fish industry but understands just how the whole world works and that insight enlightened me a lot in just how it's all connected. If you're planning to start a business, Mihir does a great job explaining just a lot of things that are really useful for entrepreneurs such as understanding your market, funding in Singapore, and finding research on research that doesn't even exist. One thing is prominent in this interview is that Mihir knows fish facts! Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/262Mihir

Today I'm interviewing HonMun Yip, currently asset manager for KICL Group which manages investments but he does a lot of stuff. Mainly, he's invested in a ton of alternative protein companies as an early-stage investor. His list can be found on LinkedIn but some of his portfolios includes but is definitively not limited to: Impossible Foods, Eat JUST, Motif Foodworks, Gingko Bioworks, and Youkuai Meats. HonMun has been through it all in his career seeing the rise and fall of the dot com era and the eventual adoption of the smartphone era and now he's in the action of the food tech era. In this interview, you'll gain deep insight on a bird's eye vision. HonMun compares the current food tech landscape like the smartphone industry. It took 30 years to fruition so as an investor, you have to recognize trends and stay for the long term I caught HonMun right after his trip to the United States, and he tells me just how exciting it is to see the technology progressing and the energy that exudes from meeting with founders face to face. What's important to mention in this interview is that HonMun sees one thing that resonates in this sector. Purpose. Compared to the digital age, food is so connected and so personal, the potential benefits to the world are blatantly obvious, that the investor community notices the intense passion of these entrepreneurs. One quote I always love from mark Twain is that history doesn't repeat itself, it rhymes and I think it bares repeating this over and over again. I think we need this focus whenever it comes to exciting new technologies. Enjoy this Interview with HonMun Yip. We do this in some corporate office in Singapore. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/261HonMun

We're interviewing Chef Jeff Yew, Product Development Lead at GOOD Meat Asia in Singapore and this guy plays with cultivated meat every single day. He works for the only country that has actually commercialized cultivated chicken commercially, GOOD Meat. In America, you might be familiar with JUST. The company that makes a very popular plant-based egg. It's the same company. Throughout this interview, Chef Jeff shows time and time again how for lack of a better term, ballsy, he is in making big changes to his career. From jumping on a plane to interview for a New York restaurant, to moving to Indonesia to build his own, to trying half a cultivated chicken nugget and totally pivoting his whole career to bring this technology to market, Jeff is an inspiring innovator who really follows his heart.   So besides that, this episode gives me the opportunity to talk to someone who's actually worked with, as in, has felt, understood it, and optimized, cultivated chicken so I asked him all sorts of questions. You'll have brief insight on the commercialization process on cultivated chicken, and Jeff's viewpoint on how to make dishes with the stuff. He also goes into the activation events that GOOD Meat does all around Singapore and also some secrets on how to get this hot commodity that sells out in seconds.

This episode is with Valerie Pang, the Innovation Associate for the Good Food Institute Asian Pacific, shorten to GFI APAC, and is generally the first point of contact for anyone who wants to know about the Asian Pacific Region in alternative proteins. If you've been a long-time fan of this podcast and listen to the alternative protein stuff, you hear their name often as the go-to source for getting into this field. During the short time, GFI has existed, they have been a center point of supporting the food industry in adapting to the alternative protein space. Whether big companies are anxious to dip their toes, to ex-business consultants looking for a technical cofounder, GFI has always been at the forefront in developing this ecosystem. And GFI has grown tremendously. What was once a budding organization in the United States has gone global and of course, they have an APAC section, where I was introduced to Valerie Pang, a bright, engaging, and knowledgeable employee who shared with me some of the vegan food Singapore has to offer. It's pretty good. Everyone I know at the Good Food Institute is a rockstar who put their whole self to work. I was fortunate to collaborate on a series like, 4 years ago with some amazing young people. Some who are still at GFI today. I'd say this interview is split into two parts. Part one is Valerie's work experience, in which she actually spent a few years in America working for tech startup categories such as AI and block chain, and switched to food. She then worked at Ryan Bettencourt's company, Wild Earth. In here, we compare and contrast working in tech versus food, and also the differences between America's and Singapore's work culture I did this interview right before visiting like 7 other countries and I ask about work culture to each person I visit.  I will say, I feel a bit ignorant in this interview and I think I glamourize American work culture a bit too much here. I think my findings after all of it is that every company truly is a bit different in their management style and the expectation of work but I digress. The second part of this interview introduces a ton of interesting events and resources that help startups flourish in Singapore. Valerie and GFI APAC do a fantastic job sharing and compiling the useful accelerators, agencies, and other niceties to help support startups and businesses in Singapore.   Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/259Valerie

Today I'm interviewing Aparna Venkatesh, the Collaborative Innovation lead for Southeast Asia and Oceana at Buhler where she leads collaboration on innovation strategy in emerging opportunities for sustainable foods and novel food technology applications For those that don't know, Buhler is a swiss multinational business-to-business giant. Though they do a ton of things, if you've worked in the food industry, you would know that they do a lot of process equipment. Arpana goes into a lot more detail about the many industries that Buhler innovates in and properly educates me on the origins and capabilities this company has. Aprana also has had a decade of experience working for the Singaporean government and was one of the scientists that began the process of approving cultivated meat in Singapore. So we deep dive into the technological advancements in both cultivated and plant-based meat and we discuss just how important a proactive government is when it comes to pushing this technology. We also discuss how companies can invest in long-term innovation, especially with the help of Buhler. Shownotes, discussion about current news and reflections on Momofuku Ando: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/258Aparna  

Today I'm interviewing Ratna Juita, a well-being strategist and a TEDx speaker, facilitator, and trainer based in Singapore to talk about mental health and how to avoid burnout. Scrambling to figure out what to do in Singapore, I found Ratna's content on LinkedIn really informative so I reached out and she agreed to be on the podcast. Ratna is a joy to talk to and is very organized in her approach to mental health. In this episode, you'll hear a few exercises that might help you figure out how to control burnout or overworking. Ratna's methods have been presented to a lot of corporate teams so they are legit. Ratna also talks about her own struggles. For example, how she overcame her fear of public speaking after a devastating failure I think mental health is extremely important in this day and age and it's only recently that we are more open about it. Just like physical exercise and rest, our brains must go through the same thing. We talk a lot about big problems on My Food Job Rocks, so having Ratna on is a nice and well-deserved mental break from the existential crisis we go through daily. Coincidentally, we're launching this episode after Mental Health Day. We do this in a rental office in Singapore. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/257Ratna  

Today I'm interviewing Jolene Lum, client development, for Asia Sustainable Foods newly named NURASA. They are a wholly owned company of Temasek Holdings, for those who don't know, Temasek is one of the most well-known private holdings company that is known for its moonshot investing and is directly owned by the government of Singapore. Jolene is an entrepreneur at heart, extremely passionate about all things sustainability, very eloquent, and can explain things really easily. I really enjoyed our discussion discussing some of the interesting challenges going on with the current food tech space in Singapore. Jolene also has great insight into the farmer side of the industry. Singapore imports 90% of its food and the food they do grow is vegetables. Her first business was to connect these farmers to consumers for higher quality produce. I find her empathy with the farmers really enjoyable. We do this in a WeWork in downtown Singapore Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/256Jolene

Today I'm interviewing Andrew Yip, Head of Future Food at Monde Nissin Singapore, what the heck is Monde Nissin and why are they interesting? They are a philipino based mega food corporation that bought Quorn about 7 years ago. Andrew was one of the first people I contacted in Singapore mainly because he posts great food content on Linkedin. When I visited him, I was introduced to some amazing food applications using Quorn technology.  If you want to see some pictures, check out the shownotes. I have mixed feeling about Quorn. Some products in the United States are not my favorite. Their hot dogs taste like cat food and their nuggets taste like fish but I was super impressed with the spam sticks and bao I tried using Quorn technology. Anyways, we then did a podcast in the Monde Nissin office. You'll learn about Andrew's journey from being a chef to an R+D scientist, his philosophy in product development and also why Andrew believes Singapore is such a central place for brands like Quorn to set up an Asian HQ there. They are not the only ones. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/255Andrew

Today we're interviewing Franklin Yao, who is the CEO of Youkuai Group, where they make Zrou meat. For those who don't know, it's a kinda pun of zhurou, which means pork in Chinese. Yes, even though I don't know a lick of Chinese, I know a lot of food in Chinese. This interview is my first Chinese startup. So my favorite part of this interview is asking Franklin a million questions on the differences between Chinese and American everything. Consumer mindset, entrepreneur culture, and the value of meat and we volley back and forth comparing and contrasting how we see each culture act on each subject. You'll learn similarities and difference a lot of aspects in what a young Chinese alt protein startup has to deal with and it's enlightening to know we have the same successes and the same challenges that many other alternative protein companies have I really enjoyed this interview with Frank. It's an inspiring story on how to form a stellar team, winning superfans and building for the long game. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/254Franklin

Fiona Fleming is the CEO of Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology; FAIFST and Principal, FJ Fleming Food Consulting You know, people say this is a food tech podcast and I'm quite flattered I'm considered one but one thing I pride myself in is the diversity of our guest list. So I'm really excited to interview Fiona because her vast array of knowledge about the Australian food industry is really enlightening. You'll get a big breakdown on some really interesting stuff such as the farming industry in Australia, or how bush fires and floods affect the food supply down under, and my personal favorite topic, demystifying regulatory hurdles in Australia. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/253Fiona

Today we're interviewing Simon Newstead, founding partner of Better Bite Ventures. A Venture fund that focuses specifically on Asia Pacific. Why? You'll find out in this episode! Simon has an entrepreneurial background in tech and started investing in the early stages alt-protein companies because of his compassion for animals. Some of his and his business partner, Michel Klar's portfolio includes notable brands like Tindle and Green Rebel Ok, so you might have heard me rant before, he's a tech entrepreneur? Does he even understand food? Did you know before starting Better Bite Ventures, Michel Klar and Simon Newstead started and sold their own chocolate company just to understand how the food industry works? That's dedication. Simon's interview is full of data and statistics that show APAC as an amazing land of opportunity for alt-protein startups. You'll also learn some practical tips on how to get into investing. If you're interested. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/252Simon  

Today we're interviewing Sarah Qian, founder of Compassion Creamery,  an oat-based cream cheese company located in Sydney, Australia. They're a really small plant-based brand only native to Sydney but I found the conversation to be quite enlightening. I think the best thing about Sarah is her actionable and relatable experiences such as how to validate that your product is good, how to get a champion or mentor, and using your parents as…free labor! Side note, when I was at Better Meat Co, we had to go to San Francisco every month and I would use my parents' place as a free hotel. Wow, dinner and a room, can't beat that! Sarah's laid-back attitude and relatable problems are a joy to listen to. I hope you enjoy this episode with Sarah Qian, we do this in the University of Sydney at the Incubate office Shownotes: https://myfoodjobrocks.com/Sarah251  

George Peppou, the CEO and cofounder of Vow Food is extremely funny, quirky, and extremely knowledgable. He talks fast but really knows his stuff. Vow's approach to Cultured meat is a lot different than what you've heard. I'm sure you've heard the story of a well-funded cultured meat startup, which talks about their black box technology and replicating a chicken nugget. Vow's approach is to really sell cultivated meat as a new, unique type of product that's never been eaten before. You'll hear them talk about Morsel, their first product. I don't do a good job explaining it, but the way George does it, well, it gets the gears turning. Have to thank my friend and genius inventor Mike Manion for helping me hunt down George! George was Mike's first employee and when I was telling Mike I was going to Sydney, he connected me with George. George's story is inspiring and an entrepreneur's underdog tale in that creating an innovative company isn't just about the product you produce, but the people you surround yourself with and the tenacity to get stuff done with the resources that you have.   Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/250George

Today we're interviewing Larissa Zimberoff, a food tech reporter and author of the book Technically Food, Inside Silicon Valley's Mission to Change What We Eat. She is a freelance journalist who covers the intersection of food, technology, and business. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, and many others. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/249Larissa

Today we're interviewing Caroline Cotto, COO and Co-Founder of Renewal Mill. I've wanted Caroline on for a long time cause I think Renewal Mill is a super cool company that's always doing amazing things. We've met a multitude of times during conferences and it's always nice seeing her. In this interview, we talk about how Carlone got into the food industry, her try-all journey at Renewal Mill, and you learn a lot about Upcycle, how it's evolved in the past five year,s and a new and trending certification that shows upcycled food in bright light. Shownotes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/248Caroline

Phil Saneski has worked in Michelin-Star and James Beard Award finalist kitchens. He led the launch of the Research Chefs Association Upcycled Foods product development student competition--the world's first event focused on manufacturing byproducts. His curiosity about ingredients historically considered “waste,” and his passion for formulating delicious products led him to be VP or Product at ReGrained, an innovative upcycled food start-up helping to change the way the world thinks about “waste” ingredients. Phil has spoken about upcycled foods at numerous local events as well as SXSW, New Products, Cereal & Grains Association, and Stanford Design Thinking conferences. After Regrained, Phil moved on to product development for CCD Innovation, a chef-driven food & beverage consultancy in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now Phil is the Culinary Manager of Farming Hope, a culinary job training non-profit that uses recovered food to train Apprentices experiencing major social and economic barriers to employment. He believes in a more equitable food system that uses ingredients that already exist in our supply chain and that neither food nor people should ever go to waste. Phil looks for any reason to do a collaboration popup, too. Show Notes: http://myfoodjobrocks.com/247Phil  

New articles every Friday at http://myfoodjobrocks.com New episodes every Wednesday

It is an honor to interview the man who introduced one of the first popular culinary science books and probably has inspired thousands of food science professionals, Harold McGee. Harold McGee’s writing style is unique because he really deep dives into a very specific topic. Food Science and culinary friends might recognize him from the book, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, but now he has a new, stellar book about smells! Nose Dive, A Field Guide to the World of Smells is a fascinating book that dives into not just food smells, but also dives into other interesting smells such as flowers, the human body, and the stars! If you are a food scientist, having a grasp of smells, might be useful in your career. What is probably the best lesson from the famed author Harold McGee, is that he reinvented himself multiple times. His intent was actually being an astronomy but he pivoted multiple times form literature, and then food and what you discovered is that Harold McGee’s success comes from this unlimited curiosity whenever he is passionate in a subject. So these threads, from astronomy, to poetry, to cooking, to smells, has a common theme: intense curiosity. Lots of things to uncover in this interview. From the journey that Harold McGee took to write his smash hit, his lucky opportunity getting the book out there, and Harold’s thoughts on how food has eveolve din his life time. Also learn why Harold wrote a new book, and what he thinks about humans recreating animal-like products like meat and honey. He has a closer connection to it than you think. Show Notes Harold McGee wrote about food in 1970 I started writing about food because I couldn’t get a job in literature I did Astronomy first and then switched to literature Why did you get into Astronomy?: I recall a project in 2nd or 3rd grade Cal Tech I was able to study with a person who figured out that the elements were from the stars What got you into literature?: Standing looking in the stars had to do more with feelings and emotions rather than calculations and I realized I wanted to write What influenced your writing style?:  I did a thesis on 19th century English poetry What is your opinion on Science and Art?: I try to not pigeon-hole science and try and shape it to be more understanding Liebig – Searing meats seal in the juices? Science doesn’t even have a lock on authority. My publisher liked me to talk about cooking, but to add stories when describing things. He really changed the way I write Keys to Good Cooking How do you write about a specific topic?: I really love research. Especially these days, we have the internet If you research a lot, you have to cut things?: Yes, I have a ton of left over notes. Who was talking with you when this book came out?: Actually, nobody in the 1980s. Nobody was really using unique cooking ingredients. Mimi Sheraton – Wrote an article on Time Magazine about the book and it exploded The people I heard form most were not professional cooks, but actually students who wanted to be professional cooks. They would try to get professional chefs to answer questions that wasn’t answered in the book but the chefs wouldn’t give them stellar advice How has food evolved in your life time?: More accessibility to more cool things. A growing interest in food and drink and experience. Food has evolved, hasn’t it?: Yes, how I ate and my kids ate is completely different My Food Job Rocks: I’m amazed about the complexity of cooking. And there’s more to come Let’s talk about the science of smells: I started to dive into flavors at first but then my curiosity took me to a new place: smells. Why did flowers have the same smell of oysters? Borage flowers have the same smell of oysters and cucumbers I had to talk to Flavor Chemists when we work together. How do you communicate smells?: Smells are based off of objective facts and biological memories. Training is all about training that database My job was to give a field guide to smells. Not fully subjective, but a mix of both In the book, there are tons of comparative tables If you “listen” to smells, you can actually get a lot more out of things Top Note Base Note Perfumers actually have a similar method on describing smells When you focus, the smells actually dissipate and you can understand the aroma better. Do you have a method of smelling?: I kind of “pump” my breath so you breathe out and you get some interesting smells. I create an accordion motion with my tongue and that gives me more of a sequence of experiences than one long understanding How do you feel about alternative meat?: Actually, my kids played soccer with Pat Brown’s kids so I knew him in the circles. One day, Pat called me and we had a talk about a crazy food idea that ended up being Impossible Foods. The products are getting closer and for the right reasons. I’m greatful for the personal happenstance that allowed me to get into that industry Will this help scientists?: Yes, it’s a good overview of understanding smells. It can help you be a human GCO in some sense GCO – Gas Chromatography What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: I get a lot of alerts from science journals Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry Chemistry and Biodiversity Do you have any advice for someone to stretch their curiosity?: Yes, take advantage of the availability of information. You can get interested in something and go to Google Scholar and just type in a couple of key words and you’ll see amazing things that are published Don’t just limit yourself to a particular discipline or a particular field, they bloom when they synergize Where can we find you for advice?: Nose Dive should be on the shelves and also online stores I can be found at my website, HaroldMcGee.com

Today we have Arvind Gupta, Co-Founder of IndieBio and Po Bronson, Managing Director of IndieBio. They both wrote a book together called Decoding the World, A Roadmap for the Questioner. A, I would say an anthology of all of the wonderful technologies Po and Arvind have incubated through their journey in IndieBio. For those that don’t know, IndieBio is this amazing biotechnology incubator in San Francisco. I’ve spoken there a few times myself. Basically, imagine this incubator that takes these fantastic ideas but also has the equipment to create a viable product for future funding. A lot of companies like Memphis Meats, Clara Foods, Prime Roots, Geltor, Perfect Day, NotCo, Endless West, New Age Meats, Finless Foods. Why am I naming so many of them? Because not only are these companies hot, up and coming superstars in the food industry, but I personally have friends in all of these food companies! It’s been an honor to have the opportunity to interview the team in charge of sparking the flame and I ask how they started and got involved in IndieBio, how young people can contribute to this biotech movement,  and I think we have a very touching and important discussion about the value of doing creative art with your science career. Po and Arvind have great chemistry and it was a blast talking to them. I added a bit of pre-audio banter, because I found it so funny. Show Notes IndieBio – Independent Biology Located in Jessie Street Why IndieBio?: It lowers the barrier of entry of BioTech Startup IndieBio: What are huge problems that no one can address that we can solve? We have areas in new York, China, etc Notable companies that went through IndieBio Memphis Meats Clara Foods Prime Roots Geltor Perfect Day NotCo Endless West New Age Meats Finless Foods Sandhill Road: Silicon Valley Money Worldly Priorities: Do we need an environmental disaster to finally understand that this is an issue?: Cognitive Dissonance is a huge problem. We might need something bigger to happen Do you think there’s going to be more companies solving this?: The younger generation is taking note and they are asking “what can I do to change it?” In most situations, the taste will always have to win for consumer acceptance. Environmental challenges are generally second-teir How did you start?: Arvind: My thesis was modifying e.coli to dissolve wood at 1996 Venture Capital is the ultimate business model to take all the risk How do we have scientists take more risk?: Most safe jobs aren’t as safe as you think Generally, you’ve already bet on yourself with your PhD For Po: IndieBio is a movement, not everyone needs to be a founder, but everyone can be part of the movement. It’s not just the scientists Author of 7 New York Times Best Seller Indie books People thrive in a balance between security and risk and different people have different thresholds Po, you’re an author, why are you in food?: I’ve grown up in it my whole life around food Why did Po and Arvind create a book?: We’re both artists so we get along Dr. June Axup – plays Ukelele and sings science songs In this industry, your mind has to be extremely fast Also, most companies that go here have a sense of performance art because it’s so ambitious My Food Job Rocks: Arvind: We play an important role in having scientists build meaningful companies Po: I love proving people Wrong How do people get into IndieBio?: A one-page application. You can attach a pitch deck if you got it We do 10 startups twice a year every 6 months in San Francisco and New York Where can we find your work? Indiebio.co – You can select SF or NY Decoding the World – DecodingtheWorld.com Social Media: Po Bronson Social Media: Arvind Gupta How’s the pandemic treating you this year?: This batch, we couldn’t do food companies but next batch has a few promising food ones

This amazing episode is with Ryan Bethencourt, Founder and CEO of Wild Earth, but this guy invests, mentors and influences and has had such an impact in the alt-meat and biotech community. If you’re in the plant-based community and don’t know Ryan, get to know him, follow him on LinkedIn, he is one of the lynchpins in this innovative field and shares a ton of amazing content. So what has Ryan done so far?  Well, started a company? Several. Invested in innovative technology? Scientist? Yep. Been on Shark Tank? Got an investment on Shark Tank! This guy has done everything! A big takeaway from this episode is that Ryan was told no all the time. Why? Because he had dyslexia as a kid but after reading some science fiction and then busting his butt working really hard, he kept on breaking expectations and is now a literal limitless human being and has leveraged his weakness into his greatest strength. I know Ryan personally, and I never knew this story! You’ll learn a bit more about his personal life such as why he moved out of Silicon Valley to Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and set up an awesome sustainable food fund with his wife. Based on the length of the episode and the quality of today’s guest, I don’t have to tell you that you will learn a lot and be inspired in this interview. The best takeaway in this episode is that even if people say you can’t, you can. Show Notes Mark Cuban Shark Tank Deal What do you call yourself when you talk to people?: If it’s simple I say I run a dog food company I also have invested in/helped build 130 startups I cofounded Indiebio and I cofounded Wild Earth The first investor in Memphis Meats, Not Co, Geltor, Clara Foods Arvind and Po’s Book Silicon Valley actually has a biotech ecosystem but it was hard to break in. Once the recession hits, we bought biotech equipment and put them into our garage SOS Ventures backe dour company called IndieBio and we would provide a lab to scientists Y-combinator NotCo in the US Wait, are you an investor and a CEO?: Yes, I’m an AND person. I do both Sustainable Food Ventures What Are You?: I’m many things, but you and I have done the “and”. Give yourself permission to do both and it’s ok to fail and don’t listen to the people who say no I was dyslexic as a child and really had a handicap in school. My parents always believed in me and introduced me to science fiction Science fiction told me about what is possible and taught me to work harder to make these goals happen Once I found that computers helped me work faster, I leveraged technology to do great job. Eventually, after I looked up from the grindstone, I became more knowledgable people GATTACA – the swimming part Book: Three Body Problem Series – Chinese Fiction - Three part series What other cultures can do science fiction well? Each culture can give us a different lense into science fiction Silicon Valley – The Rome of Technology Ryan was always looking at multiple hubs to leave Silicon Valley Steve Case – AOL Focus on the Rise of the Rest Research Triangle Hub Marilis Holme, my wife and I created a new future of food fund in the triangle called Sustainable Food Ventures It is harder to set up a fund in undeveloped projects but it’s worth it What is your strategy in developing cities? Big Idea Ventures Veggie Victory – Rise of Plant-based Meat in Nigeria Plant-based Meat is supposed to be 1% of the meat market right now How do people get money from startups?: Just ask us. We help Book: Zero to One Golden Beef- Real Beef but slaughtered free Tufts University Golden Rice Better Meat Co Motif Foodworks Why did you start Wild Earth?: Funny enough, no one wanted me to make this company and they wouldn’t want to invest in me on dog food Dogs eat everything We are actually getting some interesting data on dogs eating a plant-based diet. We are funding future research For Wild Earth, it’s not just that we’re plant-based, but we care about our pet’s nutrition We want Wild Earth to be the leader of plant-based dog food and make an impact with giant companies. The more we can convince large pet food companies join us, the more impactful you can be Book: Hyper Competition – Managing Dynamics of Strategic Maneuvering Porter’s 5 Laws are Wrong. They only matter in a  static system, not a dynamic system The true barrier is constant innovation Telsa is an example of a constantly innovating product Book: Elon Musk Biography by Ashley Lance Moonshots – Elon needs our help to bring the future of food to feed people in Mars Book: The Future is Faster Than You Think Peter Diamandas from X-prize My Food Job Rocks: I get to feed my dog an amazing product that was once an idea and now is a product Venture Capitalists: generally are risk adverse Softbank and WeWork How do we kick people in the pants about climate change?: I believe in humanity in the long term. I believe we can solve a lot of problems. The Tech investors in the West coast might have awoken to the sheer issue with the climate situation Book: Wizard and the Prophet How do you inspire scientists to take risks to start businesses to save the world?: Scientists want to make science for the love of it. It’s hard for them to take risks. Give yourself permission to try. If you have a  good idea, email me at ryan@sustainablefoodventures.com SustainableFoodVentures.com – We love to fund idea stage companies

We kick off this interview with some product development tips. Lindsey Wisener works with all sorts of clients big and small and so we talk about the best way to say, communicate feedback. Lindsey owns WiseBev, a consultancy with a built-out lab in Indiana It’s important to note that Lindsay built a consultancy with a functional lab from scratch but it took her a while to do so but by leveraging her experience and doing it right, she now thrives with a  small team, making innovative products. We break down step by step how she did it. From what she studied in University to the value of keeping your connections close when you’re ready to try something new. Show Notes Peas on Moss with Lindsay Wisner Robert Kay from Isagenix What do you say in a sentence eor less?: I help people bring their beverage to life I own and operate WiseBev and specifically do beverage I have a small team of scientists. I live in a rural part of Indiana Is it hard to get clients when you’re rural?: Sort of, so I made my own business How do you communicate projects?: I do live tastings with my clients and have an objective when we taste. I take notes while we’re live. How do you communicate feedback?: If it’s objective like a comparison, it’s a bit easier. If the objective is subjective, we talk a bit more specifically about the flavor profile Who do you usually talk to during a tasting?: Generally the Internal R+D team. Once it goes through the gauntlet, I’ve probably done around 50 or so samples so I have a generally good idea How did you find out about food science?: Living in rural areas allows you to be iin tuned to food science. My animal science class had a video about being a food scientist I ended up being a graduate student in dairy chemistry and worked at Johnson Nutrition Johnson Nutrition focuses on three different types of formula: Baby, Toddler, and Older-than-Toddler Then I worked at Kellogg’s nutrition Insights on failed projects: Sometimes it truly is feasibility. The technology isn’t there yet How is it different from working with Kelloggs and Entrepreneurs?: The big companies are still guarded by financials and technology. The smaller ones have different problems Generally for Entrepreneurs, we have a two day working session and go through the whole process in understanding the challenges of making a beverage What usually shocks people?: Generally the process cost and MOQ quantities. You can’t just make 2000 units. You have to make millions. MOQ- Minimum Order Quantities Shipping Water When did you start your consulting business?: I was 30 and had my first kid and decided to do contract work. I started my LLC 2 years later My first client was from my old boss at Johnson Nutrition that I still kept in contact with. I started with a pH, aW meter, and some scales and had to drive to the local college to use the complex machinery. Eventually, I had enough money to create my own lab I have a 25 acre place and thought I could create lab there. Unfortuantely, there were a lot of challenges such as rezoning, put in a new septic system, approvals, inspection, and it cost 3 x as much and 3 x as long But now it’s all good 4 years later. It’s a good investment for this type of situation My Food Job Rocks: I get to spend all day in a lab creating new beverages What trends or technology are you excited about?: Coffee innovation in tea. You might see some cool things in the tea space in the retail space Have you noticed anything different in the clients you’re getting during the pandemic?: Alternate/non-dairy proteins is not going away. Hard Seltzer/Mocktails and some keto products What is one thing in the food industry you would like to know more about?: Sensory science Ivy Koliker’s episode Do you recommend any books?: Gen Sincero. You Are a Badass What about podcasts?: Biz Chicks, Consulting Success What is some advice you can give on how to start consulting?: Do something you know really well. People kept on calling me on product development Where can we find you?: I’m on Linkedin Lindsey@wisebev.com

Today, I interview Toni Okamoto, founder of Plant-based on a Budget and Michele Cehn, founder of World of Vegan to talk about their new book and their journey in building their business. Combined, they have over 1.5 million Instagram followers and numbers in the six figures on various platforms such as youtube, email lists, and everything else. Toni and Michelle built their following from scratch and turned what they did from hobby to business. In this episode, you will learn the journey that Toni and Michelle took to get there as long as some really insightful tips on running an influencer company. But most importantly, they’re a dynamic duo and an amazing case study of how collaboration amplifies everyone. The funny story is that I’ve met them personally and have even playtested their recipe. Why Funny you should ask. Toni’s husband is Paul Shapiro, author of Clean Meat, and a popular interview in episode 102. When I moved to Sacramento to start Better Meat Co, Toni was one of the first people I met in Sacramento and Michelle also lives there. Since they loved to cook, they would do a lot of fun parties and cook delicious food. One of my favorites is a chocolate pie made of silken tofu. Toni and Michelle are probably the most down to Earth people I’ve ever met.  They are super authentic, super passionate in what they do, and they are just such nice, accommodating people who are just full of sunshine. You can find their new, collaborative cookbook The Friendly Vegan Cookbook wherever you can find books, and we have a link to it in our shownotes! About Toni Toni Okamoto is the founder of Plant-Based on a Budget, the popular website and meal plan that shows you how to save dough by eating veggies. She’s also author of the Plant-Based on a Budget Cookbook, co-author of The Friendly Vegan Cookbook, and the co-host of The Plant-Powered People Podcast. Okamoto’s work has been profiled by NBC News, Parade Magazine, and she’s a regular presence on local and national morning shows across the country, where she teaches viewers how to break their meat habit without breaking their budget. She was also featured in the popular documentary What the Health. When she’s not cooking up a plant-based storm, she’s spending time with her husband and their rescued dog in Sacramento, CA. About Michelle Michelle Cehn is the founder of the popular food and lifestyle website World of Vegan and a YouTube personality who has reached millions through her creative and relatable videos. She is also co-host of the Plant-Powered People Podcast and co-creator of the 12-Day Dairy Detox, Plant Based on a Budget Meal Plans, and 7 Days documentary. Michelle has been on a lifelong mission to make kind and healthy living enticing, easy, and fun, ever since the age of eight when she first became a vegetarian. Also a passionate photographer and filmmaker, you can find her dishing out mouth-watering food photos and inspiration daily on Instagram, hanging with her pup Chance, and stepping into parenthood with her hubby Dan. Show Notes During the pandemic Michelle now has a new baby Toni now has a new dog. Pitbull handle - @eddiethepittie Toni Okamoto – I’m an author Michelle – I own the website World of Vegan Toni’s Platform Toni’s Instagram: 400,000 followers E-newsletter: 60,000 followers Website Plant-based on a budget: 15,000 users/day Michelle’s Platform Michelle’s Instagram: @vegan: 1.1 million people Also do youtube videos Toni’s audience is more budget friendly Michelle’s audience is more focused on veganism Over time, our audience blends We chose the word The Friendly Vegan to promote the love of food On our book, we look for cheaper ways and more available options for the world What’s the most underrated plant-based protein?: Lentils Lentil Shepard’s pie Tuna Salad made of Chickpeas How does the process work?: We started veganiging our family recipes and went from there How did you find out about Veganism? Toni Okamoto’s story: stopped eating meat at 16, then became full vegan in college and then with 11 years of experience, did animal advocacy. Plant-based on a budget is actually a side project What the Health exposure exploded Toni’s career Michelle Cehn’s story: I worked on world of vegan for a while and when I lost my job, I had a choice and ended up working my butt off and ended up getting much more money than I thought I could get What were your metrics on going forward with your blogging projects?: I always had low expectations in terms of how much I need to survive. I would always review business goals Toni Okamoto’s Story: I was always poor and to the point, I was always surviving. I had Paul Schwartz (friend of ours) help me push myself to make bigger goals. I found a $70k salary was an extremely ambitious goal Patreon What was your first Sponsorship story? Toni Okamoto: I did a sponsored post for a baby stroller and got $200 dollars. I had no kids and was transparent that I was doing this to keep the lights on Michelle Cehn: I went to Natural Products Expo West and saw people paying social media influencers I would give companies my media kit and charged $25 dollars per post. Every time I would communicate for a brand and they kept on saying yes so I double the price As an Influencer, surprisingly the difference in success is price per user. If you charge more, you survive more All big companies have a plant-based company now There’s a lot of information, too much so a lot of our content is focused on recipe development and help lift that sector up Vegan is generally a bad word. A lot of people who approach us love us because we’re friendly What is one piece of advice about becoming a professional blogger?: Just do it. Know that there will be challenges and don’t try to focus on the competition What was the make-or-break point that made you keep going?: For Toni, she got an email that talked about this mother taking care of her family using plant-based on a budget For Michelle, it’s every warm piece of feedback Plant-powered People Podcast

Michelle Klieger is an agricultural economist and founder of Strategerm Consulting. Michelle and I have been LinkedIn connections for a while and I like her content, which is always insightful and interesting. Mainly because her field dives deeply on the economics of the farmer. We as food scientists aren’t that familiar with not only how food is grown, but how does it move throughout the world or how does your dollar, affect the farmer? You’re in for an eye-opening discussion about the farmer end of the equation. For example, we’ve probably heard of a lot of produce and animals that have gone to waste. Why can’t we all donate all? Other questions like the crazy ways in how food travels for efficiency sakes. Is shipping millions of pounds of food from another country more efficient and sustainable than local? The answer is, that it’s complicated! You’re going to hear us say a lot about this in this episode. If this episode makes you think and you want to understand another important segment of the food industry, Michelle has her own podcast, The Grower and the Economist and her job is to strategize and educate people about the complex world of Agricultural economics Show Notes LinkedIn I’m an Agricultural Economist, recently focused on trade The trade war has recently been putting a lot of strain on the economy Coronavirus hits a lot of issues including imports exports and labor Is the supply chain good and stable?: It’s switched into a Just In Time model. If you focus on efficiency all day, if a disruption hits, you’re in trouble. Efficiency generally means large facilities with a lot of outputs One meat packing plant can carry 5% of the meat production Potatoes excess due to COVID Animals slaughtered because of COVID Why do we waste excess food?: Either harvest is difficult, labor was short, or the tomatoes were rotting We grow on a scale in most places where we can’t understand. Think 10 million pounds. They can only donate 1 million pounds I think the system has proven more resilient than we think Keep in mind that operating margins are low Restaurants need 80% capacity to break even. 50% of seating capacity is slowing killing people. Surprisingly, the government has kept things afloat What is the specialty industry?: One example is high-value yarn. She got the payment for number of pounds of wool which was $100 dollars. Farmer’s market food is generally specialty. The government only pays commodity rate We’ve done a great job optimizing our food system but less good at considering the environmental impact Are grassroots movements effective? Such as the consumers voting with their dollars?: I do believe that it’s important and it’s one of the questions that isn’t being asked. We aren’t really asking people about how much they would pay for premium food. Asking a farmer to add more stuff I really hard There’s a huge trade-off of diversifying volume and specialty. There’s a huge risk in farming such as natural disasters It’s not a widget I studied animal sciences. I wanted to be a wildlife veterinarian After an incident with a leopard attacking crops, it had me thinking about our crop system I felt like I could deliver more impact by focusing on agriculture than healing animals I took the GRE, went to the University of Maryland, moved to DC. Worked for a nonprofit in conservation and then agricultural consulting One example: What do Americans think of Chilean kiwi? Another: Japan’s export tracking how do you sell Chilean Kiwi’s?: I learned that Kiwis are not that sweet, not that valuable, and more of a salad fruit Adam’s Kiwi’s story: We actually ship kiwis to other countries and receive kiwis to other companies In a carbon output, ships are actually more efficient than trucks Life Cycle Analysis ShamePlane What is one thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Price parity. What are consumers looking for and what are they willing to pay for? We’re at a point where we have enough food and it’s safe Right now, our choice is challenged a little bit such as Cocoa-cola cutting flavors for instance Aluminum can shortage What if Beef disappears? What would happen? Gallstones from cows How are you learning? The Square Meal - Eating in the Great Depression Webinars from Kansas state Women in Ag in Boston Group Future is Faster Than You Think Rabobank Podcast How do we think of food differently?: On the farm side, we think of seasons. Food takes time to grow. Stategerm offers agricultural strategies Michelle@strategerm.com The Grower and the Economist – a farmer strategy podcast

Before we get started, just wanted to let you know that this episode is sponsored by Food Edge, an online virtual summit taking place this week and I’ll be interviewing the founder of this digital summit today, but first, let’s hear a little bit more about this event from Lauren. Use promo code "MFJRVIP" to receive 20% off tickets to the Food Edge digital summit taking place October 21-23rd, where you can choose to attend 1,2 or all 3 days! So one of the PR people I worked with introduced me to Lauren Abda, Founder of Food Edge, Branch Food, and Co-Founder of the Branch Venture Group so I can help her talk about Food Edge on the podcast. Then the pandemic hit, that was delayed, and now they have a brand new online conference filled with great speakers and great resources. So we circled back to talking about it and they offered to talk to Lauren. I always research my guests and I didn’t realize that Lauren was this super connector who knew like, every food company in new England. From my experience, knowing super connectors like Mark Nathan from Austin or Cynthia Maxey from San Francisco is the easiest way to get involved in a group of wonderful people. How did Laura become a super-connector? By starting a meetup 7 years ago and building it bit by bit. Eventually, she was able to create money-generating revenue and had enough runway to connect full time. So we also discuss how the pandemic has affected her specialty. Like everyone, events, conferences and connecting with people has been completely altered as the pandemic continues on but the good news is that there’s been a lot of adaption and a lot of innovation. Lauren talks about how her companies have adapted and how others have as well. Disclaimer, my audio messed up! Maybe you might not notice it because of the editing but I recently bought a new sound mixer and forgot to plug it in to the software, blah blah blah. Rookie mistake! But that goes to show that even if you make rookie mistakes, you keep going. Even after 230 episodes. Show Notes Happy Lights Boston Winter Survival Branch Foods Branch Venture Group We’ve funded about 9 companies with around $2 million dollars Atlantic Sea Farm – Saco, Maine. Seafood harvesting company What States count as New England – Everything North of New York Where do you live?: I live in Boston. I chose to live here because I went here in graduate school. I worked for the WTO and have a degree in food policy Meetup.com What do you tell people who ask what you do?: I work with innovators who change the future of food I have a degree in Food Science from the University of Vermont Tufts University Dan Barber was a graduate Wolfgang Puck’s kids were graduates Cell based research happens in Tufts Dim Sum I started the Branch Foods meetup group at 2013 just to network in the food industry. I made the group to share ideas, and collaborate and it started to take off Laura started a meetup in 2013 and just did events weekly. Eventually, made more events and was able to monetize Coworkering space – Branch Food in partnership with Cambridge Innovation Center How has the Pandemic affected your business: We realized there’s a lot of pain in the food industry because of this so we had to relieve the pain by connecting them to the community. Serving Up Support Food-Sol Babson Branch Food meetup group Greentown Labs Mass Robotics Labs Central What tech is really fascinating in Boston?: Nori – an all-natural protective silk-based layer. Diversification of protein is very interesting I’m excited to learn more about: blockchain and supply chain. Anything that makes things more sustainable What resources helped you create Branch Food?: Omnivore’s Dilemma – it set people on the journey on what’s in our food. Food Inc. The Art of Gathering Mountains Beyond Mountains Tufts program: Nutrition Communication Food and Nutrition Bulletin Tufts How do you recommend scientists branch out?: Science helps people think critically and takes the informationa t hand to make a good decision You have the critical thinking skillset on what you want to do Food science is broadly applicable and is a good foundation for every food company today Branchfood.com Foodedge.co Lauren@foodedge.com facebook, twitter, etc Other ways to get involved Venture Fizz Green Horn Connect A great way to start meeting people Boston Public Market for meeting local vendors (Downtown) Communal Kitchen Stockpot Maulden Kitchen  

We talk a lot about Sustainability on the podcast. Generally, it’s either through technology, or packaging, or advocacy, but how do you convince someone to care? Manuel Gorrin has done this his whole career, from plants to corporate. In this episode, Manuel talks all about sustainability. From tools used to discuss to the common worker, to new techniques such as Regenerative Organic Certification, which is a new practice and is different than Regenerative Agriculture. Confused? We get into it in a lot of detail. Learn about the journey in how Manuel met Greta Thunberg, and how he collaborated with her to amplify the voices of kids who want to discuss Sustainability. What’s probably the most enlightening thing about Manuel is his kind heart and compassion to animals, life, and the planet. From childhood to his job now, his focus was always making the world a bit better and it’s quite amazing. Show Notes Blaze PR How do you describe yourself?: I am trying to save the world. But you’re a chemical engineer: yes, but we are still involved in the process The fires and the virus are a wake up call and we need to do something about it I focus on Soil: We protect the health of the soil Nature’s Path is the largest organic cereal company. We are family owned. How do you communicate sustainability?: We actually align through a training. Sustainability is our vision which is to leave the Earth better than we found it You need to make it simple and easy to digest so for example, we have 6 rules What do you recommend for young companies to aim for sustainability goals?: Find the passion first and focus on what you are doing Sometimes you have to find your passion through working How did you find your passion?: Surprisingly, networking. Just getting in contact with the stake holders, I got opportunities. Greta Thunberg Youth Movement How to ask for expertise: Ask them “I want to learn more from you” What did you study in college?: When I was a child, I wanted to save animals. I went into chemical engineering to try to innovate in oil. Then I found out how terrible oil is for the planet. Universidad Simon Bolivar I started as a wastewater treatment engineer Then supervised a vinegar plant Earthlings - documentary on youtube What did you do in Kraft Heinz? Build plants. Sustainability is really hard to break in not only in corporate setting but a global setting Why did you switch to marketing?: I felt the need that if we want to move the needle, we need to amplify the message. The company also saw my passion for sustainability and let me have a chance. Are there any trends happening in sustainability?: ROC – Regenerative Organic Certification. If you do a certain procedure, you can make organic products and sustainability Patagonia, Dr. Brenners, and us are part of the pilots for this program Regenerative Agriculture is not the same as ROC The True Cost – Documentary Patagonia says – “don’t buy our stuff” Project Drawdown – an organization What is one piece of advice to start something: You can create your own Green Team in a company and get people excited in sustainability Christine Liu started sustainability in Boeing @manuelgorrin LinkediN: Manuel Gorrin

Sensory science isn’t just tasting, it’s so much more. After all, you have five senses. What about the feel of toilet paper? Or the smell of kitty litter, or the sound of paper crackling. Not only that, but the metrics you use and how you train your panelists all matter when it comes to getting valuable data for your product. Though Sensory Spectrum is a service, I ask Ivy Koelliker, on some tools and tips that either you, the budding food entrepreneur or the food technologist on the bench can use to optimize your prototypes. From cat urine to plant-based meat, this episode has it all. How do these relate? You’ll find out. Special thanks to Kristin Bernardi for not only being a fan of My Food Job Rocks but also reaching out to interview one of many extremely talented colleagues. Why did I choose Ivy? Mainly because her blurb had to do with plant-based meat. Yes, the big secret, I interview people to help me do my job better! About Sensory Spectrum Founded in 1986 by Gail Vance Civille, Sensory Spectrum provides Consumer Research, Descriptive Analysis, Training & Education and on/off site Sensory Services Management. Our research and consulting span a wide range of consumer products and ingredients to include foods, non-foods, packaging, and devices. We have onsite objective panels, consumer quantitative & qualitative research, discrimination testing and data analysis, with experienced sensory scientists trained in project management and creativity to provide guidance and data interpretation to our clients for everything from fuzzy front end research to claims support. About Ivy Koelliker Ivy Koelliker joined Sensory Spectrum in 2010. As a Director at Sensory Spectrum, Ivy manages a team of consultants whose expertise spans a wide variety of consumer product categories and sensory research techniques.  Ivy specializes in food descriptive analysis and training food descriptive panels, and has expertise in statistical techniques, including linking consumer and descriptive data.  Ivy has an M.S. degree in Food Science from Rutgers University and completed her B.S. in Biological Sciences there, as well. She also has a Grand Diploma in the Culinary Arts from the French Culinary Institute. Show Notes How do you describe what you do?: I taste food and I tell people about it Sensory Spectrum Malodor – analyzing and mitigating bad smells Trained Panelists – we hire trained panelists Spectrum Method Training How to taste better?: Remove personal bias, be descriptive, and practice, practice practice. When you practice, taste various different products and be aware of the notes What is the flavor that your company wants? What is the flavor your company wants to convey? Buy top competitor products and see what’s similar and different among them All food companies have plant-based meat divisions What have you noticed about plant-based meat: The top tier companies nail appearance, getting close on texture. Flavor: some are getting close but no one is hitting it exactly. Meat flavors tend to be in the meat broth or mushroom flavor notes. It’s great, but misses the mark National Restaurant Association JUST Egg Did you find out about food science before college?: No. I found out about it during my Masters Rutgers University Culinary School taught me the ways of working and being efficient at work After Culinary School, I decided to get my degree in Food Science and then worked in the sensory lab Dr. Beverly Tepper Food trends and technologies: Sustainability Research Chef Association Griffith Foods Sustainability is a trend Non-traditional Savory options Boba Popsicle Sensory Evaluation Techniques with Gail Civille (owner of Sensory Spectrum) ASTM – Documentation for sensory test protocols Delgado Coffee How do you get into Sensory Science?: Though a degree will give you an edge, some of our people don’t have sensory sciences but you can still get internships or be an analyst. Statistics is very important in Sensory Science Because food is personal, we have to really eliminate the bias of our controls Sensory Spectrum – you can send a quick message  

You are listening to episode 236 with Lisa Donovan, Writer, Baker and author of Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger. She’s a James Beard Award recipient for her writing in Food & Wine. Her publisher, Penguin Random House asked me to interview her so that means this podcast, has made it! Anyways, something to note is that we as professionals love to script our lives. Especially early on. By this age, I want to be vice president of this thing, or that thing, you know who you are. But what if you couldn’t? What if you had to fight to just survive? Or what if opportunities come as they show up? Not fall into your lap, but rather finding opportunities and then working relentlessly to get them? That’s Lisa Donovan’s life. A ballet dancer, art reviewer, baker, and now, writer. As I go through my professional journey, if I decided to stay the course, I don’t think I would have been where I am today. I wouldn’t have a  podcast, have started my own company, or have moved to all of these amazing cities. Something to chew on. This interview shows Lisa as an unstoppable and creative force technically, but her new memoir, Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger showcases the struggle of being a single mother and the struggles and successes of being a woman in the restaurant industry. Take note on how we describe the technical process. On the surface, Lisa’s skillset can be considered art, but art has a technical process and something to think about, is how you can put art, in your technical process. Show Notes How do you describe yourself?: It changes quite a bit but I haven’t worked in professional kitchens in a while. Now, at this moment, is writer first. Has your writing been beneficial for your baking?: Each has a technique and a process until it’s “put on the menu”. There’s a nuance for each and you use the same parts of your brain. When you edit, you have to put everything on paper and then cut out the rest. You have to create a central story and some stories might not make it and needs to cover the themes Sometimes the rewarding feeling is having someone personal read your book What got you into baking?: Survival honestly. I had to do it at night when the kids were sleeping. Eventually, I got a job as a server and persisted in baking Rhodesian Ridgeback How did you get into writing?: As reviewers came to try things, I would ask them about what they do and how they did it John T Edge – Founder of the Southern Foodways Alliance Kat Kinsmen How are you surviving lockdown?: I want to try to make things that are just beautiful and I’m thinking a lot about it James Beard Award: Dear Women: Own Your Stories – Lisa Donovan Sean Brock Kitchen Parnassus Books Now Serving in LA Instagram: Lisa Donovan Website